Product Manager

**About HIEC**

HIEC is an innovative not-for-profit social enterprise that focuses on partnership, mentorship and workforce development in Ontario. With over 30 years of experience as an active community-focused organization, HIEC’s goal is to enhance career education and inspire youth to make informed career decisions.

**Why Us?**

At HIEC, our goal is to make a positive impact in the career journeys of others, and this also applies to our own internal team We offer a team environment that encourages innovative ideas and an entrepreneurial spirit. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging so everyone feels valued, respected, and heard. Simply put as possible, we care about our employees (have a look for yourself)

This role also offers:

- Competitive salary (we included the details)
- Comprehensive company paid for benefits after 3 months
- Mental Health Supports (Calm App Subscription, Better Help Sessions)
- 2 Weeks Vacation + a Holiday ShutDown
- Hybrid Work Model
- PD/Career Development Opportunities

**Position Description**

**Job Responsibilities and Key Accountabilities**

Product Development
- Co-define and communicate the product vision, strategy and objectives with the development team and applicable stakeholders, ensuring alignment and understanding of the overall direction of the product.
- Create and maintain a prioritized product backlog by collaborating with stakeholders to gather requirements, prioritize items and ensure the backlog is refined and ready for development.
- Participate in all aspects of the product development lifecycle, including analysis, design, testing, and integration.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to define product requirements and prioritize features.
- Work collaboratively with business development to conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify market trends, customer needs, and opportunities.
- Work closely with cross-functional teams, including IT, operations, and marketing, to define, deliver, and support cutting-edge technologies.
- Meet with the Marketing Manager, Program Manager, and other stakeholders to learn more about what is required of the platform and ensure that product features appeal to users and capabilities; meet with representatives from all facets of the organization to develop product(s) and related processes while considering all of the organization’s operations.
- Work with users, marketing, program, and other stakeholders to identify key business use cases that drive enhancements and requirements in the product development process.
- Act as the voice of the customer/user within the organization
- Deliver Market Requirement Documents and Product Requirement Documents with prioritized features and corresponding justification.
- Work with external third parties to assess partnerships and licensing opportunities.
- Collaborate with marketing to develop core positioning and messaging for our websites.
- Perform product demos for various stakeholder audiences.
- Create and maintain product documentation.
- Conduct market research and analyze competitor websites to ensure a cutting-edge user experience and feature set.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for website direction, managing cross-department communication regarding website updates and enhancements.
- Oversee UX/UI design efforts, ensuring sites provide an accessible, engaging, and intuitive user experience.
- Use analytics and user feedback to identify pain points and prioritize improvements.
- Monitor website performance using analytics tools to drive improvements and inform future development.Develop and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) to track user engagement and website effectiveness.

Project Management
- Lead cross-functional teams to ensure successful product development, launch, and lifecycle management.
- Ensure that applicable project management practices are followed throughout project lifecycles.
- Collaborate with administrators, users, and other applicable staff to set project parameters, prioritize feature requests, and establish release roadmaps.
- Develop project goals, work plans, timelines, and coordinate resources, including implementation strategies, while tracking progress.
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels, including presenting product plans and progress updates.
- Develop strong working relationships with key stakeholders, understanding their needs and ensuring alignment with the product roadmap.
- Act as the primary point of contact for product-related communication across teams, including development, strategic relations, customer support, and marketing
- Develop budgets for projects and make recommendations.

Product Performance and Optimization
- Stay informed on new or emerging trends and technologies that benefit the organization, business partners, and/or customers.
- Ensure a seamless user experience through continuous optimization and enhancements based on customer usage data and feedback